The City at the End of the World

[Xindaris]

The City at the End of the World.

The last defense. The last civilization. The final bastion of order and light.

The only city. ​

Founded at least three millennia ago, long enough that nobody is (or at least, should be) old enough to remember, by the enigma of a man that has ruled it since that day. Its eight walls house the last civilization, in an unerring, eternal period of peace, not out of goodwill, but out of fear--or more accurately, the desire to survive.

The city has no name--why should it, being the only one left? All which is outside is black, darkness...them.
The creatures.

The world was almost gone soon after they first appeared, but there was an inexplicable lull in their attacks just at the brink. It was then that Valim appeared to unite the survivors of the many kinds under one banner. The creatures would return, and so they built the great city, larger than they could dream of filling and with the best defenses conceivable.

Today the defenses hold, and almost every inch of livable space is occupied. Within there is still music, writing, science. The study of the great art, magic, has never been stopped. There are dances and parties, shops and homes. There are still the rich and poor--but the gap is usually not so great, and corruption not so common nor tolerated, for they are all living in a last-ditch effort at shelter, and nobody forgets this.

They only appear at night. It is hard to say if the creatures fear light, or simply do not exist where the sun shines, but it matters little. Day is the time to rest, for every night is a battle in a ages-long war, a seige of the city. And those who fight in the war, the most respected of the guilds, the Defenders. Ultimately led by Valim himself, they are trusted with keeping the city safe from threats both within and without, keeping order, and sometimes granting or forbidding permission to the other guilds.

Valim is at once the city's greatest mystery, and its greatest hero. He never sleeps, rarely eats or drinks, recovers from wounds quickly with no scars, and, even stranger than all of these, possesses an ability neither magic nor science has ever been able to emulate: He can move instantly from one point to another within sight with a thought, as easily as breath. Yet more enigmatic is that he seems immortal--despite looking like a somewhat pale-skinned human, he has lived at least three times longer than anyone else conceivably could. Yet for all of the mystery, he is respected as a humble, brave leader, and not even the most rebellious would dare question his dedication to the city and its inhabitants.

Next Post: Setting Information

 

[Xindaris]

Setting Information

The City's Layout:
The city has three walls, each in the shape of an octagon, of increasing height and thickness going inward. The first and second, with a space full of traps between, surround the great farmlands, the only source of food and fuel for everyone. The reason these areas are least protected is because they are least populated: The creatures have no use for crops or animals; they are only interested in people. So the inside, inward from the third and highest wall, is the city where most live and work, playing out their daily lives. The octagonal shape is used to effectively divide the city into sectors, eight in all, split along lines drawn from each corner of the wall to the center.

The World:
Obviously, the city is pretty much it for playable characters. Any race imaginable (and I mean anything) can be found inside, as well as many animals, ordinarily domestic or otherwise. Magic is obviously around; technology is somewhat similar to modern earth (where it comes to computers, lighting, some manufacturing), but not involved in transport or entertainment (so no cars, monorails, internet, cell phones, etc.). Guns exist, but are rare because they're less effective than arrows to the city's common enemy. There are instances of minor crime in the city--theft, barfights, and so on--but the Defenders keep it on a tight leash.

The Underground:
There is a complex of tunnels underneath the city which stretches, well, nobody can really figure it out but estimated to be about as far as the city's walls. These tunnels contain the power plant which pumps electricity to the upper city, the mines which precious crystals, fossils, and masonry materials for the wall come from, and some dwellings for races which cannot live in direct sunlight. The tunnels are large enough that the city's population could take refuge there if worse came to worst. There is one set of stairs and one set of elevators leading down into the tunnels in each sector of the city area, but nowhere else. Sometimes the dark creatures are seen and fought underground, but it's fairly rare and generally handled by the inhabitants.

Next Post: Guild Information

 

[Xindaris]

Guild Information

Guilds:
Guilds are pretty much the organization system of the entire city--if a bunch of people want to get together and do something productive, artistic, or social, they do it through a guild. The Defenders are the first and the ultimate guild, authorizing all of the others. However, a guild can be anything, from the study of magic to the crafting of jokes--there isn't too much restriction as to what a guild can do, as long as there aren't "clone" guilds for no reason. Each guild has a creed, a brief statement of their mission, and an emblem, a simple symbol that is used to easily identify members or meeting locations.


Organization of the Defenders:
The Defenders are divided into eight groups: The seven who rotate and the one "upper" section who essentially supervise the others. Of course, this upper section is not considered above fighting; in fact, most of those ranks are out at least three nights of the week, and probably a day or two.

Here's a list (real-world day names used for convenience):

Group One--Works Sunday night and Wednesday during the day.
Group Two--Works Monday night and Thursday during the day.
Group Three--Works Tuesday night and Friday during the day.
Group Four--Works Wednesday night and Saturday during the day.
Group Five--Works Thursday night and Sunday during the day.
Group Six--Works Friday night and Monday during the day.
Group Seven--Works Saturday night and Tuesday during the day.

Group Eight--Organizes the other groups, spies, works an erratic schedule and must always appear in the event of an emergency.


In-group Rankings:

Normal Groups:

There are 4 rankings, rank 1 having 1 person, rank 2 having 10, rank 3 100 and rank 4 having all the rest, which varies but is usually around 1,000.

Upper Group:
The exact organization of this group is unknown, except to those highest within it. Valim does have a declared second-in-command, however.

Promotions seem to move in different directions than one might expect, often moving someone up to or three rankings, or else into a different group. The exact reasons for this remain unclear.


Guild Application and Listing:
Players may create guilds. The only requirement is that at least one character owned by the guild's creator is in that guild, or at least closely involved with it.

Form for guilds:
[noparse]Guild Name: (Should be untaken. There may be many guilds in a particular craft, so a guild specifically called something like "Wizard Guild" is going to be really, really old or nonexistent. Guilds being named after other things is more common.)
Guild Creed: (A brief statement of the guild's purpose)
Guild Symbol: (Description or actual picture, or both if you prefer.)
Other Information:[/noparse]

Listing:

Next Post: Character Application and Listing

 

[Xindaris]

Character Application and Listing

Character Application Form:
[noparse]Name: (Most people have a first and last name.)
Gender:
Race: (Try to be imaginative with this...)
Age: (Racial lifespans vary, anywhere from 10 months to 1000 years, but it's rare to live longer than a millenium.)

Appearance:(Detailed description or link to a picture is acceptable.)

Personality:(How your character generally interacts with the world.)

Abilities:(A general idea of what abilities your character possesses, magical or otherwise.)

Occupation: (specify rank if a Defender; if not, they should be doing something useful)
Guilds: (There is a separate form for making new guilds, which can have pretty much any basis you can imagine; Defenders are considered one of them.)

History:(Anything special you want to share about your character's past goes here.)
Other:(Anything I may have forgotten; put N/A if there's nothing else to add.[/noparse]

Note that a single player may have up to seven characters.


Character Listing:

NEEDED CHARACTERS:
-Valim's 2nd-in-command
-At least five citizens
-At least three lower-ranking Defenders (may be included in aforementioned five)


Next Post: Reserved/GM's Note

 

[Xindaris]

Reserved/Note

This Post Reserved


GM's Note: Yeah, there's a good bit of information up there, and if you can't tell, this RP is designed to be epic. There will be an overarching plot, but it's going to move slowly at first.
I would like to have as many people involved as possible...so if you like the idea, invite your friends!

 

[Xindaris]

Valim and The Defenders

Consider this a sample for both application forms. It's Valim's character sheet (I'll be playing Valim) and a guild sheet for the Defenders.

Name: "Valim" (???)
Gender: Male
Race: Human????
Age: Over 3,000

Appearance: A man of average proportions with pale skin wearing a black, hooded cloak over white peasants' clothing. His likeness is at the same time indistinguishable and unmistakable. He seems to have a slight red glow around him at times. His eyes are an extremely light coloration, easily mistaken for white; his hair, rarely visible under his cloak, is short-cut and white.

Personality:Impossibly calm and quiet, even in the worst of situations. Extremely slow to anger yet quick to discipline. Very intelligent and seemingly wise, constantly planning everything. Occasionally in an uncharacteristic hurry, complete with quietly expressed frustration, as if he thinks a bomb is about to explode.

Abilities: Valim moves very fast. He wields two blades short enough to be called long knives, with a skill that makes them far beyond a match for a broadsword or bow. He has the unique ability to disappear from one spot and appear in another without missing a beat, essentially quiet teleportation, announced only by a slight movement of the wind where he was and is; the limit to this ability's range seems to be his sight, but since he can use it multiple times in succession this makes little difference.


Occupation: Leader of the Defenders
Guilds: Defender

History:Valim is said to be the one who founded the city and the organization. This story seems so incredible that most don't even discuss it; many dismiss it as a heroic myth. But he does seem valiant and constant in his attempt to keep the city alive; his loyalty, kindness, and charity to the people he essentially rules over has never been questioned. If there seems to be corruption or evil within the Defenders' ranks nobody is capable of believing, even suspecting it's him--and it isn't.
Lately he has spent whatever time he can spare studying dreams. Exactly why nobody knows, though the first explanation to one's lips is that he wonders what it's like to sleep, since he doesn't.
Other:N/A



Guild Name:The Defenders

Guild Creed:
Protect the city from the Threat outside
Protect its citizens from each other.
Prepare all for the time when the sword is unsheathed.

Guild Symbol: A picture of a black shield, with a white sword's hilt sticking out of the top and blade sticking out from the bottom. Gray background.

 

[Vay]

My first impression was to be a flamethrower equipped steam punk themed guard but i guess i'll do a crossbowman to fit in with your description of use of technology better.

 

[Sakura]

This is cool !
So, if I'm understanding this right, I can make a citizen which is also a lower ranking Defender, too ?

 

[Xindaris]

Yes. Well, most defenders have that as an occupation (so they don't really have to do anything else), but it's also possible for someone to have a second job of some sort during the "break" time...